Sarah Orne Jewett’s “The Country of the Pointed Firs and other Stories” is recognized for it’s loose plot structure. We are introduced to characters and stories at random, there seems to be nothing to connect the sub plots together.

One character in particular stood out to me, Captain Littlepage. We are first introduced to the captain when he stops by the schoolhouse where the narrator works during the day. He at first gives an impression of the upmost importance. He talks of, “a place where there was neither living nor dead”, and “blowing gray figures that would pass along alone, or sometimes gathered in companies as if they were watching” (Jewett 21). These accounts of mystical beings in a mystical place gives the reader a sense of excitement and sets them up to read what they believe to be the beginning of the plot, but in fact has little relevance. I believe that Captain Littlepage’s name is a very literal, and intentional message sent to us by Jewett. The name suggests that this character, and his significance in the text will only take up A LITTLE OF THE PAGE. The name is indicative of his relevance in the text, and perhaps a pointed clue as to the relationship between the characters and the plot. The characters we are introduced to are not central to the text. They are just small, immaterial accessories to it. The text continues to go on this way, with accounts of various stories and people, but never dwelling on one specific tale. Littlepage is one of the first character’s we meet, and I believe Jewett intended it to be so to set us up for the structure of the rest of the book.